This Friday, Board of Regents will receive the spring enrollment numbers it has anxiously awaited.

Brian Meredith, vice president for Enrollment Management, will present the numbers at the Board of Regents meeting.

The board will also meet Friday morning to take part in a preliminary budget and tuition increase discussion, as well as approve emeritus faculty appointments.

President Gary Ransdell said last week during a University Senate meeting that enrollment was currently down 287 students from the same time last year.

A drop in student enrollment could create gaps in WKU’s budget, as student tuition and fees are the primary source of income for the university.

“We are dependent on our students,” Ransdell said. “Two hundred eighty-seven students is a million-dollar factor for us.”

The enrollment report comes as Ransdell and the board will begin discussions about putting together the 2013 fiscal year university budget, including a 5 percent proposed tuition increase.

A tuition increase will not be approved until the next Board of Regents meeting on April 26, after the Council on Postsecondary Education sets the maximum percent public Kentucky universities can raise their tuition.

Patricia Minter, faculty regent, said the enrollment report will most likely be the most important aspect of Friday’s meeting.

“I know the board will be eager to get the enrollment report, since we have not been given hard numbers all semester,” Minter said.

Howard Bailey, vice president for Student Affairs, will also deliver a campus security report to the board.

While the enrollment report may be the most important item of the meeting, Minter said she was most excited about the opportunity to recognize the hard work of some of the university’s faculty.

“This is the meeting where we vote on tenure and promotions for faculty,” Minter said. “This is one of my favorite votes for the year, because it gives us a chance to celebrate major professional accomplishments of colleagues, and that’s a great thing.”